MAGA world figures take aim at GOP holdouts
As soon as this morning, the speaker will attempt to ram the Senate-passed megabill through the House as dozens of Republicans threaten to vote it down. The detractors come from across the Republican conference after the Senate sent over a bill with deeper Medicaid cuts, steeper deficit hikes and less onerous clean-energy provisions than expected.
And he's gunning to deliver by President Donald Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline, as severe thunderstorms in Washington threaten full attendance.
'We'll see. I've got to play the cards that are dealt to me,' Johnson said Tuesday, after admitting he was 'not happy' with the Senate's changes to the bill. 'And we're working through that. … But we remain optimistic we're going to land it at this point.'
Johnson has 24 to 48 hours to persuade reluctant fiscal hawks and Medicaid moderates to swallow the Senate's bill. He spent Monday on calls with concerned lawmakers and caucuses, scrambling to figure out how to pass it this week without making changes to the bill. (John Thune and Johnson have been in contact through much of the process but did not speak in the hours leading up to the Senate vote, the majority leader told POLITICO.)
But the Senate bill will be tough to sell. House Freedom Caucus members like Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) blasted the Senate's bill Tuesday for adding to the deficit and softening clean energy tax credits. Roy and Norman both voted against the bill in the Rules Committee overnight.
House moderates are worried about the steep cuts to Medicaid, which Johnson has privately said could cost Republicans the House in 2026. Sen. Thom Tillis' (R-N.C.) speech torching the Senate's Medicaid provisions for similar reasons shook many vulnerable Republicans.
And a substantial cross section of the two groups of holdouts would rather take time to rework the package and send it back to the Senate, instead of jamming the Senate version through the House under a self-imposed deadline. Norman said the House should go back to the original bill, leave town and come back when Senate Republicans are 'serious.'
Some signs of progress for Johnson: Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) appeared more likely to support the bill Tuesday night after previously refusing a deal on a state and local tax deduction. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), previously a strong no on the bill over the Medicaid provider tax, told POLITICO a local provider tax tweak in the wraparound amendment for New Jersey and other states has him feeling better about the bill.
But it would still be a gamble for Johnson to put it on the House floor: Many Republicans think the bill would fail without additional changes. However, the speaker has previously succeeded in putting bills on the floor without the votes — and relying on Trump to pressure holdouts to fold.
What else we're watching:
— Weather problems could delay House vote: Over 200 flights into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were either canceled or delayed Tuesday amid thunderstorms in Washington, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. Johnson said Tuesday night that the travel issues could push back the House vote on the GOP megabill, which is expected as early as Wednesday.
— More reconciliation packages: As the House looks to pass the current reconciliation package without further tweaks, Johnson is suggesting there could be future opportunities for lawmakers to get their priorities into party-line packages. In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday night, Johnson said the House will plan to do two more reconciliation bills during this session of Congress, which ends in 2026.
Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill and Benjamin Guggenheim contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Dems drag rep from camera view after she dozed off during Hakeem Jeffries' grandstanding speech
What a snooze. Democrats were forced to tap out one of their own members during House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' 'magic minute' grandstanding speech to delay passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — after she kept dozing off. Seated two rows behind Jeffries (D-NY) for his final stand against the GOP megabill was Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in prime view for the C-SPAN cameras, but the 79-year-old kept nodding off. Jeffries (D-NY) had taken to the House floor to stall Republicans around 4:53 a.m. after the lower chamber worked through the night. About an hour and a half later, a Democrat tapped Kaptur on the shoulder and Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) took her seat. Almost all of the House Republicans had left the chamber for Jeffries' speech, which was intended to stall for as long as possible. 3 Rep. Marcy Kaptur looked exhausted as the House went through an all-nighter to consider the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. C-SPAN 3 The Ohio rep has served in Congress since 1983 and is one of five House Democrats from the Buckeye State. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Democrats made sure to have enough members around Jeffries in plain view for the public to see. GOP leadership kept the House in session all through the night Wednesday into Thursday as it scrambled to get enough of its ultra-slim majority onboard to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some lawmakers had snuck off to their offices or other spaces to get a little shut-eye, while others attempted to power through the marathon session. A little after 3 a.m. Republicans managed to break through a procedural deadlock after four holdouts acquiesced. Following a brief debate, Jeffries tapped into his 'magic minute,' which gives party leaders in the House the ability to address the chamber as long as they wish. Jeffries read through various letters from constituents conveying their fears about the Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reforms in the megabill. The top Democrat also ran through GOP criticism of the legislative bundle in a bid to maximize the delay. Republicans had faced a bruising process to get President Trump's marquee legislative agenda package across the finish line, having mounted an aggressive pressure campaign against members and working through the various competing interests within their caucus. 3 Democrats were keen on ensuring good optics during Hakeem Jeffries' final stand against the GOP megabill. C-SPAN In May, multiple committees pulled all-nighters, and several lawmakers went viral for dozing off while working through key components of the mammoth bill. Earlier this week, the Senate worked through the night as well so that Republicans could sort through their differences and finish modifying the megabill. GOP leaders had set a goal of getting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to Trump's desk by the Fourth of July. They leveraged the fast-approaching holiday and long hours to maximize pressure on their members to put aside their reservations and back the megabill.
Politico
25 minutes ago
- Politico
Johnson says he has the votes to pass the GOP megabill
Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Thursday morning he had the votes to pass Republicans' domestic policy megabill and would only lose 'one or two' GOP lawmakers ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline. 'We'll get this. We'll land this plane before July 4,' he told reporters. GOP leaders are barreling towards a final passage vote on the megabill as soon as this afternoon after pulling an all-nighter to advance the bill over the initial opposition of conservative holdouts upset at changes the Senate made to the package. Still, Johnson told reporters that while GOP lawmakers needed 'time to digest' the Senate's changes, many of their concerns were allayed with the help of President Donald Trump and his administration. 'The president helped answer questions. We had Cabinet secretaries involved, and experts in all the fields, and I think they got there,' he said. He brushed aside concerns about Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a purple-district lawmaker who was the sole lawmaker to oppose the procedural vote, saying he 'tried to encourage him to get to a yes' though Johnson acknowledged Fitzpatrick has 'got a number of things he's just concerned about.' The final vote has been delayed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' so-called 'magic minute,' or the unlimited speaking time granted to party leaders that's been stretched into its sixth hour. Jeffries could break the all-time record set by then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who spoke for about eight and a half hours in 2021 to delay passage of Democrats' domestic policy package.
The Hill
31 minutes ago
- The Hill
What is a ‘magic minute,' and why can it last several hours?
Video above: A portion of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' remarks delivered as he extends his 'magic minute' to delay the passing of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' on Thursday, July 3. (NEXSTAR) — For more than seven hours, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) used his 'magic minute' to argue against President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which House Republicans advanced early Thursday morning. Republican holdouts in the House were persuaded to vote in favor of the bill, giving way to final debates in the predawn hours. While the House was wrapping up those debates, Jeffries took to the mic to use his 'magic minute.' He began delivering his address at 5 a.m. ET and, as of 10:30 a.m. ET, he was still speaking out against the massive bill and vowing to take his 'sweet time.' How did this minute of debate turn into a more than seven-hour speech? It's not exactly like the record-setting filibuster Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) employed earlier this year to decry the then-pending spending cuts that were expected to be added to the GOP tax bill. There, Booker could take questions from his fellow Democrats while refusing to yield the floor — which he ultimately held for more than 25 hours. The 'magic minute' is similar, though. The House tradition allows for a leader, like Jeffries, to turn his 60 seconds of speaking time into an even longer period after debate on a bill have ended, The New York Times explains. It's unclear how long Jeffries is expected to use his 'magic minute' on Thursday. If he's eyeing the record, currently held by former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), he'll need to speak beyond 1:26 p.m. ET. However long Jeffries speaks, it's unlikely to stop the massive bill from making it through the House. It is a narrow margin — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can lose only three votes, assuming all members are present — but the bill is still expected to pass. The outcome would be a milestone for the president and his party, a longshot effort to compile a long list of GOP priorities into what they call his 'one big beautiful bill,' an 800-plus page package. With Democrats unified in opposition, the bill will become a defining measure of Trump's return to the White House, with the sweep of Republican control of Congress. Jeffries and other Democrats have encouraged Republicans to reconsider and vote against it. As Jeffries spoke Thursday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called for voters to call their representatives and urge them to kill the bill. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
